


Holding Hope

by queenbree17



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam Lives AU, M/M, OCs - Freeform, Shadam, So many OCs, adam's perspective, adashi, give me more adam!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-08 20:06:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15937355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbree17/pseuds/queenbree17
Summary: Adam never got blown up in the sky and died. He was blown OUT of the sky and crash landed. This is his story and those grueling three years during the Galra invasion.





	Holding Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I am serious denial that Adam is dead. He can't be!! Not after all the hype about him! This is a whole fic that sprung from a personal head cannon i had and the little ramblings i had with my best friend! Since we only got a few seconds of Adam screen time ಥ_ಥ i've shaped him into what I wanted and added sooooo many OCs hahaha
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

He couldn’t feel his leg, or his fingers. His whole right side hurt and it was hard to breath. He opened his mouth and blood spilled out as he coughed. He was going die.

He cracked his eyes open to see Galra ships as they passed over him. Smoke billowed around him and he glanced over to see the remains of his ship all around. Sharp pieces of metal protruded from the ground and he wondered how he had even survived the crash. The last thing he had remembered was the purple beam from the Galra ship and then nothing. 

He tried to sit up. He had to get back and defend Earth. He had to tell the admiral he was still alive. He used his left arm to push himself up and pain shot through his entire body, turning his vision black before he fell back, unconsciousness taking over him.

 

* * *

 

“Over here!”

Consciousness slowly came back to him at the sound of voices.

“Is this one of their ships?”

“I don’t know . . . Look! There’s a body in there!”

He tried to raise a hand to show that he wasn’t quite dead yet.

“It’s too dangerous to reach it.”

_ No, don’t leave me _ . He wanted to cry out, but his eyes didn’t even want to open anymore.

“We can’t leave it! We have to stick together now more than ever!”

“Fine, but we have to be carefull.”

The sound of people coming closer chased more of the unconsciousness away and he was able to open his mouth. He tried to shout or make some sort of noise, but all he could do was cough up more blood.

“Oh my god, he’s still alive!”

The people started to move faster and he was able to crack open an eye to see the two of them climbing over the rubble of his ship.

“Hello! Are you okay?”

One of the people stopped, “Oh no, his leg.”

_ My leg? What’s wrong with my leg? _ He turned his head but couldn’t see anything.

“Wait! Sir, don’t move!”

He turned back to see the people now only a few feet away. They were both so young. Almost as young as that cadet Takashi always took care of.

“Sir, can you hear us? What’s your name?” One of the boys asked.

The second boy was by his leg now and he could vaguely feel hands poking at him. “This doesn’t look good.”

He wanted to look at what the problem was, but he couldn’t turn his head very far, it was so sore and any little movement hurt.

The first boy was kneeling next to him now, “Do you know your name?”

He opened his mouth, even more blood spilling out, “‘dam”

“Adam?”

He tried to nod, but that blurred his vision.

“Okay, Adam, we’re going to get you out of here.”

Adam let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he wouldn’t die after all.

The next few hours were a blur for Adam. After the boys had found him they worked to get him out of his wreckage. Apparently there was a large piece of his ship piercing his leg and pinning him to the ground while various other parts of his ship were scattered all over him. It was a wonder Adam had even survived the fall.

Adam drifted in and out of consciousness, only really coming to when there was a sharp pain from something being moved off of him or something jostling the giant metal in his leg.

“What are we going to do about his leg?” Adam heard at one point. “It’s way too heavy to carry.”

“Do you think his leg even still works? Do you think we could just cut off his leg?”

“Are you crazy?! We can’t do that!”

“What do you want to do then? We can’t carry him  _ and _ the big metal thing back with us.”

“Do we have the tools to cut this metal down? Then at least then it would be a manageable size.”

The world slipped away from Adam.  _ Do you think his leg still works? _ That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. What if his leg didn’t work anymore? What would he do? He wouldn’t be able to go back to the garrison. He would be a burden. If Takashi were still alive he would be so angry with him.

Adam laughed to himself. He had been the one to tell Takashi not to take the risks. He had been the mother hen. He had been the one to stay safe at home waiting for his dear to come home and look at him now. He had gone and gotten himself blown out of the sky and probably lost a leg.

“Adam. Adam!”

A hand slapped lightly at the side of his face and Adam forced his eyes open again. It was starting to get harder and harder to do that.

“You still with us, Adam?” One of the boys asked. The nicer one. The other that didn’t want to chop his leg off.

“Yeah,” Adam managed to say with a cough.

“Okay, good. We managed to cut that metal down to a good size and we’re going to move you now. We don't’ have anything to make a stretcher out of, but our car isn’t far from here.”

Adam tried to nod, but he really couldn’t move much of his body anymore.

“You ready?” The second boy asked as he moved his arms to hold Adam’s waist.

The first boy moved to kneel above Adam, “Ready.”

A scream pierced through the wreckage as Adam was picked up. Everything hurt, oh god, there was pain everywhere. Adam’s eyes were shut and all he could see was red as it faded to black and he lost consciousness.

 

* * *

 

The next time Adam came to he was in the back of a jeep and he could see the night sky. Tears pricked at his eyes as the stars shined down on him. They always reminded him of Takashi and how he’d never see him again. He closed his eyes and let the sounds  wash over him instead.

“Do you think anyone is looking for him, Ray?” The nicer boy asked

“You saw his uniform, he’s got to be with the garrison. They just shut themselves off from the world, they probably won’t be looking for any missing people.”

“They didn’t shut themselves off, they’re protecting our only hope from this invasion.”

Ray scoffed, “Protecting our only hope my ass! Don’t tell me you’re that dumb, Jesse. They kept aliens a secret from us, then when someone finally spills the beans aliens attack, then they send out a few ships to fight them and when that fails they throw their shields up and leave the rest of us out here alone! There are only hidden communities left! Everyone else has been enslaved while they sit pretty in their little fortress. And don’t even get me started on that defenders of the universe crap.”

“That can’t be the truth.”

There was a long pause and Adam peaked over to see Ray with his hand on Jesse’s cheek, “It has to be otherwise we all die waiting on some false hope.” His voice was softer now, almost tender. “We have to fight for ourselves.”

Jesse’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and he didn’t look away from the road, “Can’t we fight for ourselves and still have hope?”

Ray didn’t say anything and Adam closed his eyes again.

The next time he opened his eyes they were headed into an old train tunnel. The jeep hit a bump and Adam cried out as his leg was jostled. Ray turned in his seat to place a hand on Adam’s shoulder, “We’re almost there. We have a doctor too, so she’ll take good care of you.”

Adam could only grit his teeth together as more bumps and dips were hit the farther down the tunnel they went. Just when Adam thought he couldn’t handle the pain anymore the tunnel opened up and Jesse slowed down before taking a turn that looked almost invisible. The tunnel narrowed again, but the floor smoothed out, letting Adam focus on his surroundings more than his pain. A few minutes down that tunnel and it opened to a large cavern where makeshift tents and lean-tos were scattered all over the place.

“Home sweet home.” Ray said bitterly before hopping out of the jeep and walking off.

Jesse killed the engine and climbed over the seats to crouch next to Adam. “He’ll go get the doctor and then we’ll get you all patched up.”

Adam smiled weakly, “Thanks.”

Jesse smiled back, “Don’t thank us just yet.”

“What is this? What happened to him?” A woman demanded. The sound of more people followed her as Ray returned with the doctor. 

“We found him while we were out, Doc. Think you can patch him up?”

“Quit calling me Doc.” The woman said, “I never got the chance to graduate.”

Adam turned to see a woman not much younger than him with dark brown hair. She was wearing dirty overalls with an equally dirty white shirt under and she had a bandana pushing her hair back out of her face. She came over to him and didn’t even spare him a glance as she moved to his leg.

Adam grunted as she prodded his leg none to gently. 

“This metal kept him from bleeding out. I can’t tell what kind of damage it’s done to his leg though, but we need to get it out soon. All that driving probably didn’t help. That must have jostled his leg quite a bit, hopefully it didn’t damage anymore nerves.” The woman moved on to poke at his chest and Adam coughed, blood coming up. “That’s not good. He probably has a few broken ribs and with him coughing blood like that he may have pierced a lung.” She grabbed Adam’s chin and turned his head side to side. “There’s almost no damage to his face though, strong jaw, nice features. And his glasses aren’t even cracked.” She looked down at Adam for the first time, meeting his eyes. “You must have had a good helmet on. That or some god really didn’t want to ruin these pretty looks of yours.”

“So what do you think, Doc?” Jesse asked.

The woman held Adam’s gaze for a moment longer before turning around and walking back the same way she had come. “He’ll live. Get him out of that car and over here so I can work on him properly.”

Adam tried his best not to cry out in pain as he was taken out of the car and laid on a cot next to a nearby tent. Ray stood off to the side while Jesse made sure to help to get everything the woman needed ready. He smiled at Adam, “Dr. Sophie will take good care of you, Adam.”

“I’m not a doctor, Jesse.” The woman said as she came out of the tent. “Why don’t you and Ray go help clean up dinner since you decided to miss it.”

Sophie shook her head as Jesse and Ray scampered off. Adam recognized that look in her eyes. It was the same one Takashi would give that cadet. Affection, like a parent watching their kid.

Sophie looked down at Adam, “We’re low on medicine, so you’ll have to make do with none while I operate on you.”

That was the only warning Adam got before the doctor started in on him. 

There wasn’t much that he remembered. Just the pain and the screams. Adam remembered hearing Sophie shouting and people running around him as she ordered them to hold him down or to lift his leg. He lost consciousness plenty of times, but someone was always there shouting for him to wake up or else he’d die. He lost track of time and the pain and chaos became a constant until they finally let him close his eyes and keep them shut.

 

* * *

 

They said he slept for four days and Adam believed them. He felt like shit and he drank four glasses of water when he woke up. A girl he hadn’t met was by his bed when he woke up. She handed him the water and had scurried away before he could even open his mouth.

Adam’s whole body ached, but it was nothing compared to the pain he had felt only a few days before. 

“So, you haven’t died on us yet, huh?” Sophie said as she came into the room, the girl trailing behind her.

“Guess not,” Adam said, is voice sounding terrible. He coughed and cleared his throat and tried again, his voice clearer, “Thank you, Doc.”

Sophie fussed over his bandages and shot him a glare, “Are you going to start calling me that too? I’m not a doctor.”

“You are to all these people.” Adam said. He watched as Sophie meticulously check his whole body. He had bandages going up and down his arms and across his chest and his breath caught in his throat when Sophie moved the covers to look at his leg.

It was still there but it was completely covered and it felt like there was a cast on it. Adam tried to wiggle his toes but he couldn’t move anything.

“I can only do so much for these people.” Sophie said. She rapped her knuckle against the cast on Adam’s leg and watched as he flinched from the weird feeling it left. “Good, you can feel that. I wasn’t sure if you would still have feeling in your leg. It looked horrible when we finally got all the metal out. Honestly, there’s probably still some in there. I’m no real doctor after all. I’ll take it out of that cast in a few days so we can really check it out, that was just there to keep it from moving while i fixed up your chest.”

Sophie poked at Adam’s chest, “Had to open you up to make sure there was no internal bleeding. Not to mention you had several pieces of metal sticking through your skin that no one saw until we stripped you.”

“I guess I was one hell of a lucky patient.” Adam said with a chuckle. He lifted his arms above his head, testing how much he could stretch. They ahced, but they moved. His fingers were a little slow to respond, but all ten of them were still there.

“Yes you were.” Sophie said, sitting at the edge of his bed. “So now that you aren’t bleeding out on my doorstep do you want to tell us how you got so banged up? Jesse and Ray said they found in some sort of wreckage and your uniform was garrison.”

Adam frowned. “I’m one of the garrison pilots. Or I guess I was. The wreckage was my ship. I was fighting the Galra and that’s the last thing I remember.”

“The garrison!” Adam tried to sit up, pain shooting through his whole body, “The garrison probably thinks I’m dead! I need to get back there. I need to tell them I’m okay.”

Sophie pushed him back into the bed, “No one goes to the garrison. They won’t let anyone in.”

“What do you mean? The garrison is supposed to protect us. We were working on technology to protect us from the Galra.” Adam said

“Well, the Galra came and the garrison threw a few fighter planes at them before putting up their shields.” Sophie said, “After the invasion people tried to go to them for help or refuge since it was the only safe place the Galra couldn’t get to, but no one was even posted at their gates. No one was let in and no one has come out.”

Adam didn’t know what to say. He had known the garrison was always tough and cut throat, but they had been working together to protect Earth from the knowledge of alien’s and war that Sam Holt had brought to them. Ray’s words from the jeep came floating back.  _ Everyone else has been enslaved while they sit pretty in their little fortress _ . 

“Is that really what’s happened?” Adam asked. “Has everyone really been enslaved?”

“It sure is.” Sophie said, “And everyone has mixed feelings. Most have given up their hope, but there are still a few who believe the garrison is planning something.”

“It’s only been a week though, how has everyone given up on them?”

“Apparently it only takes a day to conquer a planet.” Sophie pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face, “And apparently it only takes a day for everyone to lose someone they love and lose all hope at the same time.”

Adam stared at Sophie, wondering who she had lost. He glanced at the girl who was still standing by the door, who had she lost? He thought about Jesse and Ray. He thought about the other people who had helped him out of that jeep. He thought about Takashi. Adam knew loss all too well, but one thing he hadn’t lost was hope. That’s one thing you couldn’t lose. When you lose hope you lose everything.

Sophie met his gaze and smiled at the look he had on his face. She knew determination when she saw it.

“So what are you going to do now, Adam, pilot of the garrison?” Sophie asked, “Are you going to go back to them and die on the way. Or are you going to stay here and heal and become part of the hero's Earth really needs?”

“Did you know the garrison doesn’t have much sick leave? Even for pilots?” Adam asked, “I think I’ll be able to manage if they think I’m dead for a little while longer.”

“Welcome to the pack,” Sophie said, holding out her hand. Adam gladly took it. There wasn’t anyone waiting for him back at the garrison anyways. 

 

* * *

 

It took Adam several weeks to fully heal. Most of it was his leg, which he now had a slight limp in. Sophie hadn’t been lying when she said it looked horrible. His leg had a huge nasty scar going up his calf and an identical one on his shin where his ship had gone straight through him. His back and chest had little scars all over too and they hadn’t healed nicely. Sophie said his wrist had broken, probably from bracing against his controls as he had been shot out of the sky. His fingers were slow and daft and Adam would easily grow impatient with how much he had to relearn. There was no way he was doing any piloting any time soon. Hell, no one even let him drive the cars!

It was hard for Adam to find his niche in the community. He had been a pilot and an instructor for pilots back at the garrison. And thanks to his injuries he couldn’t go on supply runs with some of the others. Adam would often find himself mindlessly playing with the kids and telling them grand adventure stories, but it didn’t feel like he was contributing much. The parents tried to tell him he was doing a great service with keeping the kids out of their hair, but Adam knew they were only saying that. 

There weren’t many kids in the community and all of them were close so they could easily entertain themselves. The community itself was fairly small. There were probably seven families and a dozen other people displaced when the invasion had started. Everyone seemed to bring something, one family had gone camping all the time so they knew how to build large tents out of nothing and start fires. Another family had run a small restaurant, so they taught everyone to cook and how to preserve foods. One of the drifters had been a mechanic so they never had issues with their cars. Even Sophie was important. She may have not graduated yet, but she had grown up with doctors and had studied to be one.

“Adam! Come help me wash these clothes!” Sophie called, carrying a large bag of everyone’s laundry.

Adam got up and followed her to the little spring they had found. She dumped all the clothes at his feet and offered him some of the soap she had.

“You need to stop sulking.” Sophie said after a moment as they washed in silence.

Adam frowned, “I’m not sulking.”

Sophie threw her head back and laughed. “I call bullshit!”

Adam huffed and pushed his glasses up, “Well, I guess I just feel a little useless. All I ever do is play with the kids and wash the clothes.”

Sophie bumped their shoulders together, “You’re an unhappy housewife. Whoever you marry would have had to be the one doing the chores, huh?”

Adam didn’t respond and Sophie glanced over.

“Oh? Were you married, did you lose her?” Sophie’s voice had gone uncharacteristically soft.

“Him actually,” Adam said. “And we never got the chance to marry. I actually lost him years ago.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sophie said, “At least he never got to see the damn Galra, right?”

Adam bit his lip, “I don’t know. He died out in space in the Kerberos mission.”

“No fucking way.” Sophie said, sitting back on her heels, “You were engaged to Takashi Shirogane? The best pilot out of the garrison?”

Adam glanced over. Sometimes he would forget that Takashi had gone out and made a name for himself. He smiled, “Yeah, he was the best.”

“I remember hearing about that mission.” Sophie said. “They said it was pilot error, but no one believed it. Personally I had always thought it was some sort of conspiracy the garrison was trying to cover up, but maybe it was just aliens.” Sophie’s eyes got big, “You think it was aliens too.”

Adam shrugged, “Who knows what happened out on that mission. Maybe they met aliens and maybe they didn’t, but one thing's for sure. Takashi never came home.”

“Sam Holt was on that mission too, right? He came home. What did he say about Takashi?”

Adam turned back to furiously scrubbing the clothes in his hand. “I never talked to him. The garrison had him locked away. I didn’t even know he had come back until he sent out that broadcast. Even after that, no one was allowed to talk to him.”

“Sounds mighty fishy, huh?”

“Sure does.”

They lapsed into silence as they continued washing and it wasn’t long before they were carrying the clothes over to hang dry.

“Have you ever thought about medicine?” Sophie asked once they had finished hanging everything.

“Medicine?”

“Like practicing it? Why don’t you help me. I could definitely use an assistant. Every supply run comes back with supplies and scraped up people. It’s a cruel world out there now.”

Adam grinned, “I might have some time between being an unhappy housewife.”

Sophie laughed and threw her arm over his shoulders. “You know, you’re alright.”

 

* * *

 

Adam thought healing from his near death experience had been slow and painful. He quickly found that learning about the medical field was even worse. He had no skill in it whatsoever and he was sure that the thought of kicking him out of the community all together had crossed Sophie’s mind countless times.

Two years later and he still felt like a novice at all this. Thankfully Adam had worked hard to get his dexterity back into his fingers and he had learned how to do basic stitching when someone needed it. That didn’t stop everyone from complaining about his sloppy job and teasing him about how bad the scarring would be.

“They should have been back by now.” Pete said as he paced the entrance into their home. 

Adam sat quietly next to him, his leg bouncing as Pete’s nervousness spread.

Lacey, Pete’s daughter, was tapping her finger against her thigh. “Maybe they’re just being careful?”

Pete scoffed, “Ray? Careful? I don’t thinks that word is in his vocabulary.”

“At least Jesse is there to keep Ray in check.” Lacey offered. 

Pete rolled his eyes, his pacing getting faster, “Jesse’s too kind for his own good and Ray doesn’t know how to say no to him. They probably are giving half the supply run to some other community that they ran into.”

The ground rumbled ever so slightly under Adam, “They’re back.”

Pete and Lacey stopped their fidgeting and stared down the tunnel for a minute before the sound of Ray’s jeep could be heard.

“I don’t know how you do that everytime.” Pete said as he and his daughter waited for the jeep to drive up to them.

“Patience yields focus.” Adam said as he got up. He frowned at the way the jeep didn’t slow down as it barreled towards them. 

Ray was driving and he came to a screeching halt, barely throwing his jeep into park before he was jumping out and moving to open the back.

“Ray, what’s wrong?” Adam said, immediately following the boy around the car. “Where’s Jesse?”

Ray climbed into the back seat where Adam could just see Jesse laying across the seats. “He was shot.” Ray said as he picked up Jesse and tried to pull him from the jeep. Jesse moaned quietly, he was unconscious.

Pete quickly came around to take Jesse from Ray. “Lacey, start unloading the jeep.” Lacey nodded and moved to the other side of the jeep, “Adam, where do you want him?”

“Me? But I’ve never taken care of a gunshot wound. Sophie-”

“Sophie’s on a supply run,” Pete said. He nodded his head to where Ray was hovering close, not even listening to what they were saying, his eyes only on Jesse.

Adam knew that look all too well. No one wanted to lose another loved one. “Take him over to that table.” Adam said. Pete nodded once and carried Jesse away. Ray tried to follow, but Adam caught his shoulder, “Ray, I need you to go get hot water.”

Ray watched Pete for a moment before nodding. “He’ll be okay?”

“I’ll do everything I can.” Adam said.

Ray turned to look at Adam. He must have been satisfied with whatever he saw in Adam’s as he snapped out of the shock he was in and hurried away to get the water.

Jesse’s breathing was labored and he was sweating. Pete had already grabbed all the tools Adam had and was now undressing the boy.

“This is bad.” Pete said, “He’s been shot in the stomach.”

Adam looked at the wound, slipping one hand under Jesse, “There’s no exit, the bullet is still inside.”

“Do you know how to get it out?” Pete asked.

Adam huffed, “In theory? Yes.”

“In reality?”

“How hard could it really be?” Adam asked just as Jesse started to seize. “Oh shit! Put that cloth in his mouth so he doesn’t bite his tongue off! We need to hold him steady until this passes.”

Pete grunted and held Jesse’s arms down while Adam held his legs. It didn’t take long for him to stop seizing.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that wasn’t good.” Pete said.

Adam shook his head, “That was probably from the stress on his body. We need to get that bullet out now.”

“Okay, Doc, just tell me what you need.”

Adam blinked.  _ He wasn’t a doctor _ . “Let’s clean up all this blood around the wound then I’ll need to fish around inside him for that bullet.” There was no time to argue about whether or not he was a doctor.

Ray came back with the hot water and they used it to clean up Jesse’s stomach. Adam watched the way Ray tenderly touched Jesse’s face, wiping away the sweat. 

Once the wound was cleaned Adam prodded at it as gently as he could. His fingers shook slightly and he felt them wanting to freeze up, but he took a breath and calmed his nerves.  _ Patience yields focus. _ That’s what he had always told Takashi. 

Adam was able to stick a finger inside. He knew the human anatomy pretty well by now, but it was so different to have your hand inside a human and try to tell what organ was what than to point them out on a piece of paper. It didn’t take long for Adam’s fingers to brush against something hard. At first he moved away from it, worried he’d found a rib, but he frowned when he realized he was too low to touch any ribs.

“I think I found it.” Adam said. “Pete, be ready to apply pressure when I take my fingers out, we can’t have him bleeding out. Ray, if he seizes again I’ll need you to hold him still.”

“Again?” Ray exclaimed, “When did he seize?”

“Ray, focus.” Adam’s teeth were clenched as he carefully scissored his fingers open to take hold of the bullet. He gave it a little tug and the bullet moved. Adam slowly pulled it some more. He could do this. He would be able to get this out.

Just as Adam thought he was in the clear Jesse started to seize again. “Hold him still!”

Ray was holding down his shoulders, his own body shaking. He watched as Pete pressed his hands into Jesse’s waist and upper legs to keep him steady as Adam pulled his fingers out. There was a disgusting squelching noise as Adam’s fingers, clasped around the bullet, came out. Ray watched in horror as blood started to rapidly ooze out of Jesse. He was so lost in all the blood that he didn’t notice the seizing had stopped.

“Shit,” Adam said, pulling his attention away. “He’s stopped breathing. Pete, don’t let him bleed out.”

_ He’s stopped breathing. _

Ray watched as Adam climbed onto the table and straddled Jesse.

_ He’s not breathing _ .

Adam pressed down on his chest and then bent over to breath into Jesse’s mouth.

_ Jesse _ .

“C’mon,” Adam murmured, repeating his movements.

_ No, not Jesse _ .

The world closed in around Ray, his vision only consisting of Adam and Jesse. Jesse wasn’t moving no matter how many times Adam pumped his heart and gave him breath. 

Ray had so many regrets. He wished he had told Jesse he loved him more. He wished he had held him closer. He wished he hadn’t been stupid enough to stand out in the open. He wished Jesse hadn’t been brave enough to push him out of the way. He wished Jesse hadn’t taken a bullet for him.

“Jesse!”

Ray’s eyes snapped open. Adam had stopped his cpr and was patting the side of Jesse’s face.

“Jesse, can you hear me?”

Jesse’s eyes opened just barely, “Was I dreaming or were you kissing me?” He asked weakly.

Adam just laughed as he climbed off the table. Ray rushed to Jesse’s side as Adam took over Pete’s spot to stitch the boy up.

“You’re a lifesaver, Doc.” Pete said as Ray and Jesse talked quietly to each other.

“Just barely,” Adam said.

Adam glanced over to Ray and Jesse. Their fingers were tangled and they stared at each other with such intensity and love that Adam had to look away. It made his own heart ache.

Recently Sophie had been filling his head with what if thoughts. What if Takashi wasn’t dead. What if he was still out there somewhere with aliens? What if alien interaction was why they had kept Sam Holt from talking to anyone at the garrison?

Adam had quickly learned that Sophie had been one of those “I believe” people before the Galra invasion. A few years back he would have scoffed at her and paid her no mind, but now, Adam couldn’t help but think. If she had been right about aliens, who knows what else Sophie could be right about.

He tried to keep those what if thoughts from his mind. They made his heart ache too much.

Jesse laughed at something Ray said and Adam smiled to himself. At least he was able to save this boy.

 

* * *

 

A year later found Adam on actual supply runs. They had grown more and more dangerous as the Galra tried to weed out the little pockets of resistance and it became imperative for a doctor to go out on them. The first one Adam had gone on had been exhilarating and then horrifying. It had been his first time out of the cavern in almost three years and it had felt great to feel the sun again. That great feeling had lasted all of two minutes before the horror set it.

All around them were signs of a ruined civilization. Destroyed buildings, abandoned cars, and vines and trees growing wild among all of it. Adam had wanted to lower his gaze, but he couldn’t. The devastation sparked the fire inside him. He was going to do whatever he could to get his home planet back. He May not be able to pilot a ship anymore and  fight these damn aliens, but he could fight as a doctor now

“Okay, we’re nearing the city.” Ray called, “We’ll have to go on foot and watch for those drones the Galra have out.”

It was just Adam, Ray, Jesse, and Lacey on this supply run. It was supposed to be quick, they just needed more medical supplies, but it was also supposed to be dangerous. The Galra had drones flying through all the ruined cities, keeping a lookout for any stray humans. The cities still had plenty of supplies, but it was almost never worth it to get them due to the drones. This one they were going to especially since it also had a large Galra base near it.

Lacey handed Adam one of the new laser guns they had lifted off some dead sentries and he took it without question. Ray pulled the jeep behind some shrubbery and they all climbed out.

“Okay,” Jesse said, “There’s an old hospital not far from us. It’s a few blocks in, but if we stick to the shadows and use the rubble to hide we should be able to get there just fine.”

“No one do anything stupid.” Ray said, pointing at each person in turn. “And no taking bullets for each other”

Jesse rolled his eyes, “We’ll play it safe if you play it safe.” Ray grumbled but stopped when Jesse pulled him in for a quick kiss. Jesse turned back to the others, “We don’t have anything to reload these guns, so make every shot count.”

Adam and Lacey nodded and fell into step with Jesse and Ray as the four of them took off into the city.

“There’s a drone up ahead.” Lacey said, leading everyone to duck behind an overturned car.

Adam peaked over, “It’s not headed this way.”

Lacey peaked too and soon they were off again. They made it two blocks in and the old hospital came into sight. Adam picked up the pace, taking pointe.

“Drone!” Jesse called, pulling everyone into the building next to the hospital.

“Did it see us?” Ray asked, back to the wall.

Before anyone could answer there was the sound of gunshots. Everyone ducked down, preparing for sentries to come marching in, but nothing came.

“I think someone else is in the city.” Adam said.

Jesse jumped to his feet and headed out the building, “Let’s use that as our cover then!”

The others quickly followed  him and ran into the next building, the hospital. Lacey and Ray fell behind, “Adam, you find what we need, we’ve got your back.”

Jesse and Adam raced through the destroyed building, their guns drawn and ready. Adam hadn’t been to many hospitals, so he wasn’t sure where to even start looking. He and Jesse ducked into each room they passed until Adam finally found the supplies he needed.

“You guys need to hurry!” Ray called, “Those gunshots are coming faster now.”

“Grab what you need,” Jesse told Adam, “I’ll keep an eye out.”

Adam nodded and started filling his backpack. Jesse paced the room and glanced out the window. Several blocks down he could see the purple lights from the sentries guns. “Our friends aren’t that far away.”

“I just need to find a few more things.” Adam said, heading out to the next room.

Jesse followed and found another window to look out of. There were two people pinned down in the ground while sentries fired at them. Jesse thought about helping them, when all five of the sentries went down. “It looks like our friends have snipers with them.”

“They’ll have to have something like that with the fact that they drew the drones attention.” Adam said.

“Did you get everything?”

“Almost, I just need more bandages.” Adam said, picking up his backpack.

“Okay, we just need to be fast. Ray doesn’t like being out like this for so long.” Jesse said, following Adam through a few more rooms.

“How we doing, Doc?” Ray called, “I don’t like these city sounds.”

“I just need a minute longer.” Adam replied. “Jesse’s got an eye on the sound.”

“They have more sentries around them, but they also have more people with them now too. And a really big dog!” Jesse said, “We should get a dog.”

“No dogs!” Ray called, “They smell and you’ll get too attached.”

“Oh come one!” Jesse complained, “I wo-”

A loud crash came from down the street and the whole hospital building shook.

“Let’s get out of here!” Lacey called, “Are they throwing bombs over there?”

Adam zipped up his backpack and grabbed Jesse’s arm to pull him from the window. “I got everything. Let’s go.”

Lacey and Ray didn’t need to be told twice. They led the way out of the building and back into the street, just as two huge vehicles barrelled by.

“Those were garrison vehicles.” Adam said.

“Great,” Ray exclaimed, “The garrison finally shows up just to cause trouble and destroy more of the city.”

“Sentry!” Jesse called, firing his gun past Ray and at a sentry that had been standing in the street.

“Wait, they’re not moving.”  Lacey said as they noticed more sentries and drones in the street.

“Let’s get out of here before they start moving again.” Adam said, turning to head back to the jeep. The rest followed him and they made it out of the city without any incidents.

The ride back was a quiet one. Everyone was thinking about what they had seen. It wasn’t until they made it into the tunnels that Lacey spoke up.

“What do you think the garrison was doing back there?”

“Probably just antagonizing the Galra.” Ray said.

“No way!” Jesse argued, “They must have been on some sort of scouting mission. I wonder how long they’ve been doing those.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still clinging to the hope that they have some grand plan to save us.” Ray frowned at Jesse.

“Don’t tell me you still believe they just abandoned us!” Jesse cried. “They can’t be as bad as you say. Look at Adam, he came from the garrison and he’s all right.”

“Gee, thanks, that’s some high praise.” Adam teased.

“Cheer up!” Jesse said, “You’re our second best doctor!”

“There are only two doctors.” Adam grumbled.

Lacey giggled, “Well, you’re my favorite. You’re not as mean as Sophie.”

“Thanks, Lace.” Adam said.

“Were you able to get everything you needed?” Lacey asked.

Adam nodded. Bandages and painkillers were the two things on the top of the list, especially since one of the women in their community was pregnant.

When they got back to their community Lacey offered to take the backpack and skipped off to his tent. Ray came up next to Adam, “You know she has a crush on you, right?”

Adam frowned, “What? There’s no way.”

“Definitely.” Jesse said. “You’re the whole reason she’s been going on the supply runs. Pete didn’t want her to, he says she’s too young to be risking her life.”

“She’s 22,” Ray said, “That’s the same age as us. I don’t think that’s too young.”

“Just too young for the Doc over here.” Jesse joked, jabbing a thumb at Adam.

“I’m not that old!” Adam exclaimed.

Ray and Jesse just laughed and walked off. Adam scowled after them before sighing and walking to his tent.

“I started putting everything up, I hope you don’t mind.” Lacey said as he walked in. 

Adam sat down on his makeshift bed and watched as Lacey moved around, emptying his backpack into the containers where he kept his medicines. He kicked off his boots and pushed his glasses up to rub his face.

“Are you okay?” Lacey asked. 

Adam opened his eyes to find her standing in front of him with a look of concern on her face. He looked away, Ray and Jesse’s words floating around his head. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Lacey pursed her lips. “They told you, didn’t they?”

Adam glanced up at Lacey almost apologetically. “Ray said you had a crush on me.”

Lacey dropped down next to Adam, knocking her boots together. “It’s not true.” She met Adam’s gaze and smiled. “It was easier for them to tease me then to look at me in pity.”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“You remind me of my brother.” Lacey said. “He was killed right in front of me and my dad. He was too busy helping someone else and making sure everyone was okay that he didn’t see the sentry until it was too late. You’re always so nice and you let me help.”

“And you’d rather the boys tease you about a crush then take pity on you for using me to fill that loss.” Adam said.

“I’m not using you! I promise!” Lacey exclaimed. “I really like you and at first I followed you because you reminded me of him, but you really feel like family now.”

Adam smiled and surprised Lacey by pulling her into a hug, “You feel like family too.”

Tears fell from Lacey’s eyes and Adam turned away so she couldn’t see the quiver in his lips. This was the world they lived in where everyone’s lost someone and everyone was trying to make new connections. Family was a huge part of so many people's lives and this invasion had torn so much of that to shreds.

“You won’t tell them, will you?”

Adam chuckled, “And lose the chance to tease you about following me like a lost puppy? No way.”

Lacey pulled back and threw a punch at Adam’s shoulder, “I don’t follow you like a lost puppy!”

Adam just laughed as Lacey pouted in front of him. He had never had a little sister, but he imagined it felt something like this.

 

* * *

 

“Adam! Wake up!”

Adam jolted awake as Jesse came barreling into his tent.

“Adam, come on, you need to get up!”

“What? Why?”

“It’s the garrison! They haven’t abandoned us yet!” Jesse was pushing clothes at Adam as he yawned “The Galra have ships in the sky and the garrison has their own ships! We’ve just gotten word about it!”

“The garrison?” Adam threw on the clothes he was given and quickly followed Jesse out.

The whole community was in a frenzy as people in different states of undress hurried back and forth. The cars were pulled up and people were getting in as word of Galra ships and the garrison spread.

“Sophie, what’s going on?” Adam asked as Jesse took off to where Lacey and Ray were already at the Jeep.

“Something big is going on.” Sophie said as she pulled her boots on. “From what I’ve heard the Galra have ships appearing all over and they’ve launched something. People are saying that the garrison has been sending people and ships out too. We’re all going out to find better protection. This cavern is under a crumbling city. If ships start falling from the sky we’ll all get buried alive.”

“I guess I better pack then.”

“Make it quick.” Sophie said as she threw a backpack over her shoulder, “Everyone’s ready to go.”

Adam nodded and hurried back to his tent. Lacey followed him and offered her help. “What am I even supposed to pack?”

“Medicine I guess,” Lacey said, “I didn’t pack anything. I didn’t really have anything.”

Adam looked around his tent. It was still sparse aside from the medicine he had and the notes he had taken when Sophie had first started teaching him. Adam and Lacey were able to fill two backpacks before they headed to where Ray and Jesse and Sophie were waiting at the Jeep.

There was a loud crash and Adam looked up to see pieces of the cavern ceiling crumble. Ray started the engine and followed the rest of the cars, picking up the rear.

“What do think will happen next?” Lacey asked as they drove down the tunnel for the last time.

“This has to be what the garrison was holding out for.” Jesse said, “This has to be part of a larger attack.”

“Or this is the end.” Ray said. “Three years is a long time to spend on an invasion. Maybe the Galra are just ready to move on and are done with us.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic!” Lacey said, “What about that big thing they started building out by the city? The Galra wouldn’t be dumb enough to just abandon it.”

“Unless they’re done with it.” Sophie said.

They lapsed into silence as they continued down the tunnel. Adam looked out at the other cars ahead of them wondering where they’d go and if everyone would make it.

It wasn’t long before they were driving out of the tunnel and everyone was looking up at the sky. Large purple ships hovered above them while smaller ones shot around at lightning speeds. The large base by the abandoned city made a loud buzzing noise before a purple beam was shot straight up, knocking a ship out of the sky.

“No way.” Jesse stood up to lean over the Jeep rails, “That thing was building a weapon the whole time?!”

“Look! Those have to be garrison ships!” Lacey shouted, standing up to join Jesse. “They’re fighting the Galra and look how much faster they are!”

“But why are there only four of them?” Adam asked, “They can’t be the only ones the garrison’s sent out.”

“We’ll have to worry about that later,” Sophie said, “It looks like Pete is pulling his car over and you know who’s in there with him.”

Adam leaned out the window to watch as everyone followed Pete as he veered towards the looming city, the opposite direction to where they had wanted to go. “Jane was having contractions last night, wasn’t she?”

“Sure was.” Sophie said.

They stopped at the outskirts of the city, everyone getting out of their cars. Adam and Sophie made their way to Pete’s car.

“Her water broke and she’s freaking out.” Pete said when he saw the two of them.

“Go make sure no one runs off and have a few people watching for sentries,” Sophie said, moving to see Jane laid out in the back seat. “Adam, you ready to deliver a baby?”

Adam shook his head and Sophie just laughed. She instructed him to get the strongest painkillers he had before turning back to Jane.

“Jane, I need you to calm down.” Sophie said softly. It was strange for Adam to hear her talk like that when she only ever yelled at her patients.

“I can’t have this baby now!” Jane cried. “We have to get somewhere safe! I told Pete not to stop but he’s so stupid!”

“The baby will come when the baby is ready.” Sophie said. A ship was shot above them and fell out of the sky far off in the distance. “I need you to focus now because the baby is ready.”

Adam saw the sheer terror in Jane’s eyes. She stared at Sophie, then looked at Adam, then the large alien ships above them before closing her eyes. When she opened them again the terror was still there, but so was her determination.

Sophie grinned, “We’re ready. Adam, I need you behind her for support. Jane I need you to pull your legs up and try and calm down. And I need a status report about these damn aliens!”  Sophie called over her shoulder.

Jesse was by her side in an instant. “There haven’t been any sentries or drones spotted yet. Those four garrison ships are still putting up a good fight, but more Galra ships have been arriving every second.”

“You hear that, Jane?” Sophie said as she started undressing Jane, “We humans are putting up a good fight. Jesse will keep us posted. Now is as good a time as any to have a baby.”

Jane clenched her jaw, but nodded. Her head was resting on Adam’s lap and she reached up to hold his hand. “Have you delivered a baby before?” She asked.

Adam chuckled. “This’ll be my first.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I trust you then.”

“I guess so.” 

“Jane, have your contractions have been pretty bad today? You’re almost fully dilated.” Sophie said.

“Yes, but we’re in the middle of a crisis,” Jane said, “I ignored them and took a bunch of painkillers this morning.”

Sophie laughed, “This kid is going to have one hell of a mom to deal with.”

Adam squeezed Jane’s hand and Sophie told her to start pushing. Adam didn’t know what to expect. He had never seen someone give birth or even read about it, but he expected more pain and more screams. Jane squeezed his hand with a bruising grip and she groaned as she pushed, but there weren’t any blood curdling screams and Sophie wasn’t freaking out about blood or something going wrong.

Sophie just spoke quietly, encouraging Jane everytime she would pause. “You’re doing good. I can see the head now.”

“They’re down!” Jesse shouted from his perch on top one of the cars. “The garrison shields are down!” He came running over to them, “They lowered their shields and-”

Jesse stuttered to a halt and his eyes grew big as he got a good look at Jane’s baby coming out. Adam could only imagine what it looked like. The head of a tiny human coming out of another human. It was truly a show of what humankind was really like. No matter what you put them through, humans would always find a way to live and thrive. So many people had called Jane stupid and dumb for having a baby while humans were being enslaved on their own planet, but Adam thought it was brave and that it brought hope. 

“The Galra shot at the garrison!” Someone shouted, pulling Jesse’s attention away. “They’re firing on the garrison and the shields are still down!”

Adam wanted to go to the garrison. Everytime he was out he was tempted. That place had been his home and where he had made his family.  They were under attack and needed help, but Adam was also needed here. The death grip Jane had on his hand reminded him of his new family he had made.

“The head is all the way out.” Sophie said.

Adam sat up a little taller and Jane looked up at him, “Can you see the baby?”

“Not yet,” Adam said, wiping the sweat from her face.

“The garrison’s launching a ship!” Jesse shouted, “It’s massive!”

“Keep pushing, Jane.”

“It just shot a hole right through a large Glara ship!”

“The shoulders are out now.”

“The garrison is going to protect us!”

A baby’s cry came from between Jane’s legs, “You’re almost there.”

“It has shields! Shields like the garrison had!”

“Just a few more pushes, Jane.”

“Oh my god, there’s a giant cannon in the sky! It’s shooting at the ship!”

“Almost there.”

“Wait, what are those? Are those lions? Giant lions!”

“Jane, it’s a girl.”

“There are giant lions fighting alongside the garrison ship!”

Jane was panting and Adam didn’t know what to focus on. Jesse was keeping them updated just like Sophie told him too and Adam wanted to get out of the car to see the action. But that desire disappeared as soon as Sophie held up a tiny newborn baby. Jane reached out and the baby cried until she was securely pressed against Jane’s chest.

“Congratulations.” Sophie said, the sounds of the fighting outside fading away, “You’re a mom.”

Adam stared down at the tiny baby, amazed that amid all of this chaos this little girl had been born. “Do you have a name?”

“Hope.” Jane said, without missing a beat. “She’s our beacon of hope in all this madness.”

“You guys,” Jesse called, looking into the car, “You have to come out and see this.”

Adam helped Jane sit up so they could look outside. Up in the sky there were huge purple beams shooting right at each other, save for the fact that the lions Jesse had mentioned were keeping them from touching one another.

“What is going on?” Adam wondered.

Everything was too far up to be able to see what was happening, but the loud crashes could be heard clearly. The large ship Jesse had talked about could be seen above them. It had its shields up and was blocking a large beam aimed at earth. Shrapnel was starting to fall fast from all the ships and cannons being destroyed and Adam could see some of them burning up as they fell.

“We need to get inside.” Pete called. “Whatever those cannons are they’ll cause a lot of damage and kill us if we stay outside like this.”

No one had to be told twice to take cover in the nearest building. Adam had his arm around Jane as he protected her and the baby while they followed everyone else. Everyone stayed quiet and huddled together as the sounds of falling ships rained down outside.

Despite the danger, that didn’t stop Jesse and Lacey from peering out a window to watch what was happening. Adam thought about joining them, but Jane was leaning against him. The baby’s dad had died not long after Jane got pregnant. He had been out on a supply run and never even got to hear the news that he would be a dad. It was just Jane and her baby now.

“I don’t know how to be a mom,” Jane said with a laugh, “This whole time I was worried about if the baby would make it and if  _ I _ would make it. I never thought about being a mom.”

Adam reached over and poked Hope’s chubby cheek, “We’ll help you. There are a few other moms here that will gladly walk you through this.”

Jane smiled at him.

“Oh my god.” 

Everyone looked to where Jesse and Lacey were, “What is it?”

“They’re did it. They destroyed the cannons.” Jesse said, he turned and tears were threatening to spill. “They really did it.”

“Oh no, that giant Galra ship is falling!” Lacey shouted. Before anyone could grab her she darted out the building. Several people rushed after her, including Adam and they all stopped in their tracks to look up. 

A giant purple ship hurtled towards earth at a devastating speed. It was going to crash straight into them! Adam watched as the lions that could only be the defenders of the universe came flying under the falling ship. They worked together to push the ship up just enough so that the Galra ship passed over the city, crash landing farther out into the open land. 

There was a deafening crash as it hit the ground and everyone held their breath, waiting for some huge explosion or another cannon, but neither came. Adam let out a breath or relief just as something caught fire up in the sky.

“What is that?” Jane asked, standing close to Adam with Hope in her arms.

Something entered the atmosphere and came crashing to earth right next to where the Galra ship had landed.

Suddenly there was the sound of fighting and Adam grabbed the people closest to him, “We need to get back inside, it’s still not safe.”

“That’s a giant robot!” Lacey called. She had climbed onto a nearby car and just barely had a clear view of the battlefield before Pete was grabbing her.

“We need to take cover!” Pete shouted, a huge explosion sending dust straight over the city and at them. 

Adam and Jane coughed at the sudden dust and hurried back into the building, the others following. Jesse, Ray and Lacey took up their spots at the window. They couldn’t see anything but they listened to every crash and boom, hoping the garrison ship and the lions were winning.

“Look!” Jesse called, “They’re taking the fight to the sky! Is that a second robot? Is that the lions fused together?!”

“It’s Voltron!” Lacey called. “That’s what we’ve heard about, that’s Voltron!”

Adam felt his breath coming faster. All the fighting sounded so familiar. It reminded him of three years ago when he had been the one in the fray.

“They’re falling! That robot has hit Voltron and they’re falling!”

Adam heard the crash of the robot and Voltron hitting the ground, the whole building shook with the impact.

“The garrison ship!” Ray shouted, “Look at the garrison ship! It’s transforming!”

The baby cried out as the building shook again and Adam wrapped his arm around Jane who was shaking almost as much as the building.

Adam looked around. None of them were part of the fight. None of them knew the people fighting for them, but that didn’t stop the fear that spread through everyone. Adam could see it in their faces. He could see the hope that was dying in their eyes, he could feel the final breaths people were preparing to take. He could feel the way Jane held her newborn tight, as if it were the last chance she’d get.

Jesse and Lacey continued to give them a play by play of what was happening outside. Adam wanted to tell them to stop. To tell them that they weren’t helping with how terrorfied everyone was, but he couldn’t. If they stopped telling them what was happening then they wouldn’t know. They wouldn’t know if there was still hope, they wouldnt know if all was lost. They wouldn’t know. But it ached to listen to them. Adam didn’t know the people piloting the lions or the giant ship, he shouldn’t feel like this, but he did. His heart went out to the defenders of the universe. 

“The lions are carrying that thing to the sky.”

“What why?” Sophie got up. She had been quiet the whole time, lost in the anxiety and terror. Adam watched her, “It looks like they’re flying it away from the earth.”

Adam could barely see out the window from where he was, but he could just see the robot being carried away. A flash of light lit up the sky and he had to look away.

“They’re falling.” Lacey said.

The lions were falling. There was no control in the fall, they were just lights falling fast to the earth.  Adam didn’t want to look. He had already experienced one fall to earth and he couldn't imagine it again. 

The lions landed with thundering crashes all around, shaking the ground in their wake. Adam stayed inside as others left the building to watch, his eyes shutting tight.

“It’s going to be okay.” Jane said and Adam didn’t know if she was talking to him or the baby.

Silence blanketed everything after the lions landed. Adam could feel more dust washing over the city.

“We should head out, find some shelter.” Sophie said as she came back into the building, ever the practical one. “There’s no doubt our cavern has been destroyed.”

Adam cleaned his glasses as he got up. “Do you know where we’re headed?”

Sophie nodded and helped Jane up, guiding her back outside to where their cars were parked. “I have a friend who still has plenty of space for us.”

Adam had to admire the way Sophie was always looking out for their community. She had kept them together through thick and thin during the last three years and now here she was finding them a new home.

Adam climbed back into Ray’s Jeep, instantly surrounded by their chatter of all the events that had just happened.

“I told you Ray! I told you!” Jesse shouted, excitedly clinging to Ray.

Ray laughed, “Okay, okay, you were right. Maybe there’s some hope left to believe in.”

“There’s always hope left to believe in.” Adam said.

Ray glanced into the rear view mirror to meet his eyes. “I thought you’d be more excited about all this, Adam. After all, you came from the garrison. There’s a chance you even knew the people out in those ships.”

Adam smiled, “Today’s just been stressful.”

Ray stared at him a moment longer before joining in on Lacey’s and Jesse’s conversation. Adam didn’t want to tell them that his stomach was in knots.  _ There’s a chance you even knew the people out in those ships. _ It had sure felt like that when he had watched them fight.

Outside the sky was turning orange as the day drew to an end. Adam watched as stars started to appear. They seemed so much brighter and Adam thought about Takashi. He tried not to think about him so much, because it hurt, but the stars were relentless. He remembered one night Takashi had taken him out to the roof of the garrison and named all the stars for him. Adam had let him go on and on, not once telling him that he already knew all the names.

“Whoa!” Lacey called, pulling Adam back. “Has this forest always been here?”

“Yes!” Ray said with a roll of his eyes, “Have you been in that cavern too long that you don’t even remember the forests?”

Ahead of them loomed a big forest. The trees were much bigger than Adam remembered and he wondered if their growth had to do with something the Galra ships had brought, or just with humans not bothering them for three years. 

They drove only a few minutes in the forest, down a well beaten path, before coming to what looked like a wall of trees. Adam peered out the Jeep as Sophie got out and walked up to the trees. They parted and Adam realized it was just a wall made out of trees. As they drove inside Adam could see Sophie talking with the friend she had mentioned at the gate. 

Inside were makeshift homes all along the ground and even treehouses that climbed up and up the tall trees.

“Oh wow,” Lacey said as she and Adam got out of the car.

“Welcome!” Sophie’s friend said as she and Sophie walked over to everyone. “It’s not much, but you guys are welcome to any of the empty houses. We’d been busy building them while I’ve been busy trying to get Sophie to move out here.”

“Well I’m here now,” Sophie said, “And just in time to see those damn aliens banished from our planet.”

“We heard about that on the radio. Someone was broadcasting a live commentary about it the whole time.”

“You guys have radios?” Adam asked. “We could never get a signal underground.”

Sophie’s friend smiled, “We use it mostly to communicate between communities, but there are sometimes people who broadcast what they can to try and brighten our lives.”

She looked Adam up and down before holding out her hand, “I’m Trish, by the way.”

“Adam.” 

“Do you think we could see the radio?” Jesse asked excitedly, Ray right next to him.

Trish smiled brightly and led them away, glancing once more at Adam. Lacey scooted close to Adam, “What was that look about?”

“Who knows.” Adam said, “It felt like she was sizing me up or something.”

Lacey threw her head back and laughed, “You don’t think she’s going to try and fight you, do you?”

Adam chuckled, “I sure hope not.”

Lacey shook her head and walked off. Adam looked over at where Trish was showing Ray and Jesse the big radio and wondered what Sophie had told her about him.

“Hey, Adam.”

Adam turned to find Jane and Hope. Jane smiled at him and then dropped her gaze to Hope. “I was just wondering if you wanted to share one of the homes? It’s just that it feels weird to take a whole house for just me and Hope and you’ve always been so kind. It’s okay if you want to say no. Not many people want to move in with a newborn.”

Adam walked over and picked the baby up, holding Hope in his arms. He pressed a kiss to her little face and she cooed. “I’d love to share a house with you and Hope.”

 

* * *

 

The next few days were so busy for everyone. They were all settling in and getting to know their new community. Adam had been worried about tensions and unfriendliness, but everyone was so nice and welcoming. And the fact that they lived outside instead of in a cavern now was so different, but in a good way. There was the sound of nature and so much light.

Jane had picked out one of the small homes on the ground and Adam loved it. It overlooked the little town square where the radio was and when he relaxed he could hear the sounds of people running around. It reminded him a bit of the garrison when he had lived in the dorms and people would be coming and going at all hours.

A few days after they had settled in and the Galra had been defeated Adam was carrying Hope around in the town square as Jane took a well needed nap.

The radio was on and several people were sitting around it as someone was broadcasting a talk show about the Galra and their invasion.

Adam was humming to her when static came through the radio. It lasted only a moment before the talk show came back on. A second later the static was heard again, this time followed by silence before a familiar voice could be heard.

“Citizens of Earth. This is Sam Holt with the garrison.” Adam stopped humming and turned to stare at the radio. “With the defeat of Sendak the Galra invasion is now over thanks to Voltron and our new crew and ship, The Atlas. The garrison is holding a memorial this evening and all are welcome. It is in this time of vulnerability that we must stand together and accept the help from other planets to rebuild what we have lost.”

Static filled the air again before Sam Holt was gone and the talk show came back, now with a new topic.

“The garrison, huh?” One of the hosts said. “It looks like they just broadcasted on every frequency to get that message out. Well, we will certainly be there, folks, will you?”

After that everyone was getting up and scrambling around, spreading the news. Adam found Jesse and Ray with Lacey and told them what he had just heard.

“Oh my god, please tell me we are going.” Jesse said, his eyes huge.

“Of course.” Adam said, “Three years of silence and the garrison is finally opening up and inviting everyone in.”

“Adam!”

Adam turned as Trish jogged over to him. “Sophie told me you’re from the garrison.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I was a pilot.”

“One of the pilots to first fight the Galra, right?”

Adam nodded. He didn’t mind talking about the garrison, but he didn’t much like talking about his last flight.

“What do you think the garrison will say when they find out you didn’t go back after you crashed?” Trish asked.

Adam could see she had other questions too. Questions like, why did you abandon them? Are you ashamed? Why weren’t you still defending us?

Hope squirmed in his arms and Adam bounced her a bit, “They won’t say anything if I’m just another face in the crowd.”

“You don’t plan on talking to them.” It wasn’t a question. And Adam’s answer wasn’t what Trish had wanted. She didn’t say anything else, just nodded and walked off.

Adam now knew why she had been sizing him up when they first met. She had been judging him and the fact that he hadn’t been a hero for earth.

“They turned their backs on you too.” Lacey said, stepping up next to Adam.

Ray and Jesse stepped closer too, nodding their agreement. “Come on, Adam, let’s go get Jane so we can go to the memorial.”

Adam stared down at Hope. She was quietly staring up at him, her eyes a shining gold. She blinked slowly and cooed before shutting her eyes and drifting off.

 

* * *

 

“It’s a shame your radio doesn’t work,” Jane said as they drove out of the forest along with a dozen other cars. “I bet they’ll broadcast the ceremony.”

“Don’t be mean to my Jeep!” Ray said behind the wheel. “We’ll be at the ceremony so there won’t be any need to listen to the radio.”

Despite the excited anxiousness the ride to the garrison was quick. They saw the lions way before they saw the garrison. They sat in a line together and Adam stared in wonder at them. He knew they had to be big, but they looked so much bigger as they got up close. They sat there as the symbol of peace.

Ray pulled his Jeep up as close as he could to the garrison. There were already loads of other cars and vehicles and the crowd was so huge.

Jane grabbed Adam’s sleeve as they got out of the car. It had been years since any of them had been around this many people.

And it wasn’t just people. Adam looked around and saw aliens too. Above him in the sky he saw ships. The sight of them put fear in his gut, but they weren’t the purple Galra ships, they were other ships. They were here as friends not invaders. 

“Wow, so many people showed up.” Lacey said.

Jesse was practically buzzing with the excitement. They followed Adam as he pushed forward through the crowd, closer to where the lions were and where everyone was gathering. They were still far back from the front of the crowd and Adam could only assume there was a stage below the lions that someone was going to speak from.

Hope cried out from all the noise and Jane absently rocked her, not taking her eyes off all the people and aliens around them. Hope cried louder, unsatisfied with the lack of attention her mother was giving her.

“Here,” Adam said, holding his arms out. Jane gave Hope over almost apologetically. They had quickly found that Adam was great with the baby and that Hope almost never cried when he was holding her. 

“Hey, dear, it’s okay.” Adam said, smiling down at the baby. Sure enough, Hope stopped crying and settled down in Adam’s arms.

“Look! Here they come!” Someone shouted and a hush fell over the crowd. Adam couldn’t see who was coming but he recognized Iverson’s voice as he started talking.

“We wanted to thank you for coming. The garrison has been closed off from the rest of the world for these past three years, but it is open again and we are here for everyone.” Iverson said, “The captain of The Atlas has a few words he would like to say and afterwards we encourage you to come help and start rebuilding our home with us.”

There was a moment of silence where Hope wiggled about.

“Today is a solemn day . . .” Came the voice of the captain of The Atlas.

Adam’s head snapped up at the sound of that voice.

“Today we look back at the lives that have been lost. And the sacrifices that have been made here on earth and across the universe.”

There was no fucking way. Adam knew that voice all too well.

“There isn’t one of us here today who hasn’t experienced the tragedy of losing someone close.”

Adam tried to peer around the people in front of him. He tried to get a glimpse at who it was speaking up on stage. 

“It truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives and the sun itself couldn’t reignite it. But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely. It is fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we’ve lost.”

“Adam, what’s wrong?” Jane asked, but he didn’t respond. He needed to know who was speaking.

“And now we must move forward in their names. And shine that light onto a new path for future generations.”

Adam stepped forward, pushing his was past the crowd, holding Hope close to his heart.

“Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope. Earth is now stronger than ever, and it stands as a beacon of light to help guide those fighting against the tyranny and oppression.”

Adam could just see a figure now. White hair. A floating arm. He pushed further forward and only came to a stop once he came to the edge of the stage.

“From here on we will spread peace . . .”

Adam felt his jaw drop.

“And together we will hold strong . . .”

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“As the defenders of the universe.”

“Takashi . . .”

The crowd roared and cheered and Hope woke up, crying out. Jane made it to Adam’s side, “Are you okay? What’s wrong.”

Adam could only stare up at Takashi Shirogane alive and whole in front of him. Well, mostly whole. Adam didn’t miss the fact that he was missing an entire fucking arm!

“Takashi.” Adam said a little louder, “Takashi!”

Jane looked between Adam and then the white haired man on the stage, her eyes going huge. That was Adam’s lost love. 

The man looked down at the sound of his name and his whole face and demeanor dropped. He had stood stoic and strong, but one look at Adam had him dropping to his knees.

“Adam?”

Jane reached out for Hope and Adam let go before rushing to the edge of the stage.

He couldn’t believe it. Adam climbed up and kneeled next to Takashi. They stared at each other for a moment before throwing their arms around each other. 

Adam could feel his tears burning paths down his face. He was holding Takashi in his arms. He had thought he’d never be able to do that again. He pulled back to see the same look on Takashi face. Adam could only stare for a moment before he was pulled in for a crushing kiss.

“Oh my god, you’re alive.” Adam said, resting his forehead against Takashi’s.

“I’m alive?  _ You’re _ alive!” Takashi said. “I came back and you had a plaque on the memorial wall!”

Adam laughed and caught Takashi’s fingers between his, “You had a plaque up there too.”

Takashi stared at Adam and Adam stared back. He looked so different, but his eyes were the same. God, had he missed those eyes.

“I thought you weren’t going to be here for me when I got back?”

Adam drank in the sight of his love, unwilling to look away, “I’ll always be here waiting for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> seriously thinking of adding a second work to this about the rebuilding of earth and these two back together. Please let me know if you want that and if you want me to write about anything in particular!!


End file.
